Cleansing liquid for beer-pipes.



aso ea. PATENTED JULY 23,1907.

H. G. STIEFEL.

CLEANSING LIQUID FOR BEER FIPES. APPLICATION FILED MAB.18, 1907.

. Q E I H15 mr j UNITED STATES PATENT oFEIoE.

HENRY C. STIEFEL, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ADAM WIENAND AND ADAM WIENAND, JR., OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

CLEANSING LIQUID FOR BEER PIPES.

are. 860,768.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23, 1907.

Application filed March 18, 1907. Serial No. 362,946-

To all tbhom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY C. STIEFEL, a citizen of the United States, and residing in the city of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented 0r discovered new and useful Improvements in Cleansing Liquids for Beer-Pipes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in a certain new and useful chemical compound for cleansing pipes and similar uses.

Pipes or tubes used to convey beer, ale .or other brewed liquors from the kegs o'r other receptacles containing thesame to the dispensing taps at the bar in the course of time become interiorly coated and befouled with a slimy deposit of organic composition. To this deposit or coating is frequentlyadded more or less pitch or rosin which has been used in treating the interior surface of the keg or receptacle. Unless this deposit is removed at frequent intervals the pipe becomes clogged and the flow of liquor therethrough impeded; the liquor acquires an unpleasant taste and odor and its consumption becomes 'injurious to the health. To cleanse the pipes it is customary to run therethrough solutions of caustic alkalis, or of soap, either alone or in combination. This treatment seldom removes all of the deposit while the rosin or pitch is barely affected and the unpleasant taste and odor appear in liquor passing through the pipes after such attempts at cleaning. To overcome these failures to cleanse and sweeten the pipes, I add to the detergents a volatile solvent of the elements making up the deposit or coating. For this purpose I use benzol, toluol or any one of the other heavier products obtained from coal tar, or I may use carbon-tetra chlorid. For a number. of reasons, among which are the following, I prefer to use the last named substance for this purpose. It is practically tasteless and odorless. It is insoluble in water, and being heavier than the solution in which it is ultimately used, sinks into all the depressions and bends in the pipes thus exerting its solvent powers where most needed. It is non-inflammable, a valuable property as the pipes to be cleaned are usually so located that artificial light is required, and its vapors are not obnoxious to the senses or injurious to the health.

I prefer to compound a solution of substantially the following proportions:3 ounces of caustic soda, or caustic potash, or a mixture of both; 2 ounces of slaked or uuslaked lime; 3 ounces of carbon-tetra-chlorid, or benzo1,-toluol or any one of the heavier products of coal tar; and 128 ounces of water. This solution may be made up in quantities and kept in stock. When pipes are to be cleaned, I add to the volume of hot water necessary to make up the required quantity of cleaning liquid, suflicient of the above solution per gallon to obtain the required strength. If the pipes are cleansed at moderately frequent intervals, a quart of the above solution per five gallons of hot water is sufiicient but if the pipes have been neglected and are very foul, two to four quarts of the solution per five gallons of hot water will be found more satisfactory. I

The action of the cleansing liquid is as follows :The

caustic alkali combines with any fatty elements in the be thoroughly washed out of the pipes by the volume of water contained in the cleansing fluid.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated in a crude way means whereby my cleaning liquid may be used for the purpose specified above.

1 is an enclosed tank or receptacle, in which the cleansing liquid is placed, after which the mouth 'ofthe tank is tightly closed. Air under pressure, say of from ten to twenty pounds, is admitted to the top of tank 1 by means of air supply valve 3. I

4 is an outlet pipe adjacent to the bottom of tank 1 and controlled by valve 5. i

6 is the bar pipe which is to be cleansed, usually provided with bar tap 7. The bar pipe 6 is disconnected from the beer keg or other liquid supply and connected to pipe 4 by loose coupler 8. The air valve 3 is now opened to give head or pressure to the liquid in tank 1. The valve 5 is now opened admitting the cleansing liquid into pipe 4 and thence to bar pipe 6, the tap 7 being partly opened to allow the air to escape from pipe 6 and the said pipe fill up with the cleansing liquid. The tap 7 is now closed and the liquid allowed to stand in pipe 6 for a few moments to loosen and dissolve the coating or deposits. The tap 7 is then opened wide and the .cleansing liquid allowed to flow at full pressure through the pipe 6, thus thoroughly washing out the foreign matter contained in the pipes. The valve 5 may now be closed and the pipe 6 disconnected from pipe 4 and attached to a water supply pipe and a. cur-- rent of pure water allowed to pass through said pipe to thoroughly remove all traces of the cleansing fluid. The pipe has by this time been fendered perfectly clean and sweet and may again be connected for service with the liquor supply. 1;

From the above it is evident that my solution acts pipe 2 controlled by I thoroughly and rapidly cleanses pipes and tubes ofthe character described.

What I desire to claim is:

i. The herein described cleansing iiuid for beer pipes rnllslsting substantially as follows:-carhon-tetra-chiorid, three ounces; :ilkuii, three ounces; lime, two ounces water, one hundred and twenty eight ounces, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The herein described cleansing fluid for beer pipes consisting substantially as follows :crirbon-tetra-ch[orid, three ounces; alkali, three ounces; lime two ounces; water, one hundred and twenty eight ounces; to which is added when used hot water to obtain the desired solution, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Signed at Pittsburg, la. this 13th day of March, 1907.

' HENRY c. s'rmmu.

Witnesses:

WILLIS L. CORNELL, EDWARD A. LAURENCE. 

